The present invention relates to a copyright protection system, a digital information processing apparatus, and a copyright protection method. More specifically, the present invention relates to a copyright protection system, a digital information processing apparatus, and a copyright protection method, wherein when digital AV information of a work is read from or written to a recording medium, the corresponding copyright is protected.
In conventional computer-readable recording media, it is required to precisely copy digital information. Regardless of how many times the digital information is repeatedly copied or whether the digital information is copied to different recording media, the identical digital information is recorded or reproduced. However, for the digital information concerning works such as digital AV (Audio-Visual) information, copying such digital AV information infringes the copyright of the information. To prevent such infringement of the copyright, scrambling codes are embedded in recording media such as DVDs. Accordingly, the information can not be copied without removing the code, thereby protecting the copyright.
However, it is still possible to disable the protection function using a readily available program or the like created by a hacker. Accordingly, the copyrights are not completely protected. Thus, it is required to provide a digital recording system incorporating a copyright protection system different from the current recording system used in computers so far.
Further, in digital broadcasting or the like, all receivers receive the same electric waves, thereby making it difficult to carry out different types of encryption for the respective receivers. Normally, a single type of encryption is carried out for all the receivers. Consequently, once digital AV information is decrypted, it is easy to copy and use the information illegally.
Furthermore, a conventional encrypting technique is intended to protect personal information against others. However, for protecting the copyright, the copyright information is required to be protected only against those who attempt to copy the digital AV information illegally.
The present invention is provided in view of these problems. An object of the present invention is to provide a copyright protection system, a digital information processing apparatus, and a copyright protection method for creating an environment where it is possible to copy required information legitimately while preventing illegal copying, so that the digital information can be freely and safely used while protecting the corresponding copyright.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.